Posted on 04/29/2007 4:59:14 PM PDT by Fawn
PORT ST. LUCIE — When Dawn Sharbuno's husband came into her hospital room Thursday night where she lay with nearly her entire face ripped off by the family dog, she worried he would leave her.
No, he told her, "We've been through hurricanes together. We've been through everything together. I'm not going to leave you now."
Sharbuno, 46, underwent eight hours of reconstructive surgery at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where she was flown after the attack. She has three or four more surgeries to go.
She had just gotten out of the pool and was sitting outside Thursday evening when her adopted dog, Roscoe, a black and tan chow-shepherd mix, came over. Her husband said she reached down to pet Roscoe when he jumped up and bit her.
"Her face was completely off across the bridge of her nose," Harry "Lou" Sharbuno remembered. "The only thing holding it on was her chin. It was like something out of a horror movie."
The couple adopted Roscoe from the St. Lucie County Humane Society less than a month ago after losing a dog to cancer. Harry Sharbuno said Roscoe never showed aggression toward people and only grumbled over food with their other dog, Venus.
"He's a beautiful dog," Sharbuno said. "He's very deceiving."
Sharbuno said his wife worked as a truck driver before a disabling accident three years ago, while he was recently laid off from an interior contracting job. The couple broke down and bought health insurance for both of them just two days before the mauling.
Port St. Lucie animal control officers took custody of Roscoe, who was returned to the St. Lucie County Humane Society Friday morning. He will be quarantined for 10 days - at a cost of $20 per day to the Sharbunos. Then, the couple will have the option of reclaiming the dog, giving him to a rescue service or having him euthanized.
At the humane society Friday, Roscoe wagged his tail and took shelter manager David Robertson's commands to sit and shake hands. Robertson said the dog arrived as a stray from Port St. Lucie Animal Control.
Before being handed over to the Sharbunos, Roscoe - like all dogs - was given a temperament test in which a humane society employee gave him a bowl of food and then tried to take it away. Roscoe passed.
The humane society tested him again Friday morning, and Roscoe again did not bark or bite, Robertson said.
Robertson said he received about 30 calls Friday morning from people who had heard about the attack.
"They're concerned about the dog, and they're concerned about the lady."
My daughter works with animal control.
Chows are the only breed that frighten her.
That’s a chow shepherd mix???
That dog is part rottie.
Chows are nasty mean dogs.
Carolyn
Please.....
Yes...I know. I’d rather have scratches and infections....instead of holding my nose in my hand.
No need to state something everyone knows anyway. A bird can scratch and bite and cause an infection. We’re talking about the DIFFERENCE is. Ripping off faces is something dogs can do....not a housecat or bird.
Didn’t need to put her down. Once we declawed her, the problem was over. That was her only vice, if you didn’t count that she would steal your french fries.
She just didn’t like faces close to her of anyone but family. It was like “Mind your own space, lady”.
>The cat was inside the house, the owner warned people of the danger of them initiating contact with the cat. I agree, the cat was a bit wacky but not dangerous enough to justify killing it.<
Let’s say Sue has a cat, that will lash out with claws extended at the face of someone, if that person gets “too close”. Sue has told everyone that comes to her house about this cat.
One day, someone comes over with a child. Sue goes through her speech, and the adults begin talking. A short time later, they hear a scream. The child’s eyeball has been ripped wide open.
What do you think will happen in court, as witness after witness describes to the jury that Sue obviously knew the cat was dangerous, but kept it anyway. What do you think Sue’s homeowner’s insurance carrier will say, when it is presented with a 6 figure hospital bill on the injured child?
Responsible animal ownership is just that. There are many dogs who snap at people’s faces, if they get too close, but do not bite in any other situation. To go one step further, in both species, lashing out when someone gets too close is fear aggression. Why are you willing to ignore dangerous behavior in a cat, but not in a dog?
>That dog is part rottie.<
Let me guess. The dog is black and tan, so it is a Rottie. It’s got the body build and size of a Chow, not a Rottweiler.
The article said this is a chow mix. Chows are very unpredictable. There are lots of instances where they have turned on their owners. Very dangerous dogs.
I agree. Something don’t add up. And the husband refused an interview. There seems to be some confusion as to whether the dog is a chow mix or a rottie mix. Strange.
Cats don’t do leashes. No wonder he went off. You do not put a cat on a leash unless he has been thoroughly trained first. Stupid people. No wonder he got bit.
And you didn’t have this cat destroyed ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !People seem to have the tendency to think all animals should bend to the wishes of humans. Truth is animals are as individual as humans. The lady was warned but she still insisted on forcing herself on the cat. Why should the cat have been destroyed because some idiot insisted on forcing herself on the poor beast?
The head and face looks like a chow, too.
Why get a even tempered lovable Lab? Why don’t you get a Chow, Pitbull or Rottie for the kids?
Chows are mean, nasty doggies. I wouldn’t ever want to live near one.
An Ex-co-worker got one for his backyard (rough neighborhood...he had thieves). The dog got loose and tore up his neighbors dog...’to pieces’ he said.
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